Brooke Rollins invites Soros to fund SNAP during shutdown

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Tuesday encouraged liberal billionaire George Soros to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through November.

Days before those benefits run out on Saturday as a result of the government shutdown, Rollins told CNN's Boris Sanchez that her department does not have the legal authority to distribute any contingency funding that is less than $9.2 billion in SNAP benefits.

"But if George Soros wants to step up and write a $9.2 billion check to keep those benefits moving for the month of November, I am guessing that that would definitely be on the table," Rollins said.

She praised the anonymous donor who gave the Defense Department $130 million to partially cover the salaries of military personnel. The New York Times reported this individual to be billionaire Timothy Mellon.

Speaking with NewsNation's Kellie Meyer on Tuesday, Rollins blamed Democrats for the shutdown and now the potential loss of SNAP benefits for millions of Americans after the start of November.

"We've been trying to patch many here and there within the law to ensure that some of these programs can continue," Rollins said. "We're doing everything we can, but at some point, it's going to run out, and we just have to vote yes to keep this government going."

Democrats have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to tap into its contingency funds. The USDA has argued that those funds can only go toward unforeseen events like natural disasters, according to a department memo. But the memo, which also blames Democrats for the shutdown, contradicts a since-deleted contingency plan that says the USDA is legally obligated to pay SNAP benefits during a shutdown.

Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, and Angie Craig (D-Minn.), ranking member of the Agriculture Committee, called the policy not just a violation of the law but a "cruel" attack on poor Americans.

“This is perhaps the most cruel and unlawful offense the Trump administration has perpetrated yet — freezing funding already enacted into law to feed hungry Americans while he shovels tens of billions of dollars out the door to Argentina and into his ballroom,” they wrote in a statement.

In fiscal 2024, around 41.7 million people received SNAP benefits monthly, according to the USDA. That same year, the federal government spent $99.8 billion on the program, amounting to around $187.20 per recipient per month.